Creamy Tomato Basil Soup

Happy Hump Day and ohhhh my goodness at how long it's been since I've posted a good recipe! I posted a few low carb desserts and a cloud bread recipe a couple months back, but it's been months since I posted a real recipe for a dish that practically everyone loves!

If you're in Mississippi right now, then you know what we're dealing with and you know why this creamy tomato basil soup is going to be everything you need to feed your soul later. We are on going on day 3 of a snow-pocalypse, and the Deep South is a mess over it! But there's something about the snow that made me want to make this humongous pot of soup for the third time in the past week and a half, and I realized that I absolutely had to share this recipe with y'all because it is so easy, so delicious, and so fitting for snow days and nights!

Like most of the recipes I post, I found this online and tweaked it to my tastes and preferences. There are so many yummy tomato soup recipes out there, but this is officially my go-to! I hope you enjoy it!!

Ingredients: 

10 roma tomaotes
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 can fire-roasted diced tomatoes*
2 cups organic vegetable broth
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
Salt
Pepper
Basil*
Parsley* (All seasonings are "to taste." I don't measure them out).

* = tip. See bottom of the post for tips.

Directions: 

Set your oven to 400 degrees F and line a baking sheet with foil or wax paper
Dice your tomatoes into one-inch chunks

Spread your diced tomatoes and tablespoon of minced garlic on the sheet

Roast in the oven for 20 minutes

In a large pot, pour two cups of organic vegetable broth and place it on low-medium heat (I do this right when the tomatoes come out of the oven, and I give them a few minutes to cool down).

In a blender, puree your tomatoes and one can of fire-roasted diced tomatoes. If you don't have a blender, a hand mixer or whisk would probably work pretty well! It just means a little more effort on your part.

After blending, pour your tomato puree into the pot and add your half cup of heavy whipping cream.
Heat to a simmer (sometimes I'll heat it boil for just a few seconds before turning it down; this girl loves her soup HOTTT).

While simmering, add your salt, pepper, and a little parley (optional--I just love parsley in soups!)
I let the soup simmer for about ten minutes, ten I add basil before serving. In each bowl, I add just a dash more basil!

TIPS: 
The can of fire-roasted diced tomatoes is optional, but I do find that it gives the soup a richer taste and thicker consistency. If you don't want to add this, grab a couple more roma tomatoes and perhaps season with some garlic powder before roasting.
The parsley is 100% optional; I just enjoy parsley in pretty much any soup I make!
You can purchase fresh basil and parsley in the produce section and chop it yourself (you can even grow both of these in your kitchen window). I used what was left in my pantry in these pre-packaged containers. I'm sure fresh seasonings taste the best, but these are still really good and very convenient!

I wish I had all the nutritional information perfectly lined up for you, but I kind of dropped the ball on that part! I did put a rough version into MyFitnessPal, guesstimating that a whole pot makes about 6 one-cup sevings, each one coming out to about 110 calories/servings. That seemed a little low though, so at some point I'll go back and re-do my recipe on there! But I will say that this is a fairly healthy, wholesome, and soothing recipe that you and your family will love for these cold winter nights!

Enjoy!!